The Balkan Chronicle

Representatives of the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia threaten the entire world to acquire their own nuclear weapons. In particular, the powerful Prince Turki al-Faisal, former head of Saudi secret services, and a former ambassador to the key Country for Riyadh, United States, pointed out that this would be his response to Iran's nuclear program. According to senior Saudis, the world community has failed to stop it and therefore the kingdom is preparing its response to this threat.

The current intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia Prince Mukrin bin Abd al-Aziz particularly warned Iran against interfering in the affairs of the Persian Gulf, which can cause war not wanted by anyone.

It might be the lazy way, to just sit and accept the utter bilge and lies coming from the mainstream western media when they report on events in Syria and Iran. But is it worth it? Would those who accept these lies still think it's worth it, not to look for the truth, if they realize that we are heading straight for a third world war?

There comes a point in time, a point from which there is no return. Someone is going to get fed up and take that step, ignite that spark, that will lead to the beginning of another world war. This world is as close to world war as it was during the Cuban Missle Crisis.

Reaction in the Western press to reports that Russian authorities have investigated the activities of the Russian NGO "Golos, the Regional Civic Organization in Defense of Democratic Rights and Liberties," was predictable: Putin was "trying to gag election monitors" and, as expected, we read that the "US condemns Russia's 'harassment' of monitor group".

The Russian electoral authorities found that Golos had violated Russia's election laws by publishing polls in the "quiet period" immediately preceding parliamentary elections and fined the organization just under $1,000 for the violation. Russian lawmakers have also accused Golos and several other political opposition friendly NGOs of receiving funding from foreign sources for their political activities, which would be against Russian law (as foreign funding of US elections would be against US law).

The organization, we read, was "the country's main non-government election watchdog," so of course it having been "gagged" on the eve of parliamentary elections was ominous and troubling to the Western press. US-regime friendly (and George Soros-funded) Human Rights Watch complained that Golos was the "victim of a smear campaign."

What would Americans say if they found their polling stations and certain political parties entirely infiltrated by Chinese money, Chinese observers, and Chinese-backed candidates promoting China's interests in an AMERICAN election? The answer ranges from incarceration, to trials featuring charges ranging from fraud, to sedition and even treason with sentences ranging from decades to life in prison, perhaps even death, as well as possible military action for what could easily be considered an act of war.

Indeed, the attempted subversion of a foreign nation and/or meddling in its elections are acts of war, an act of war the United States government through its various "Non-Governmental Organizations" (NGOs) have been committing on and off for decades around the globe. In fact, the very "Arab Spring" is a geopolitical conflagration tipped off by this vast network of Western backed NGOs.

Prosecutors on Wednesday abandoned their 30-year pursuit of the execution of convicted police killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former Black Panther whose claim that he was the victim of a racist legal system made him an international cause celebre.

Abu-Jamal, 58, will instead spend the rest of his life in prison. His writings and radio broadcasts from death row had put him at the center of an international debate over capital punishment.

The first round of results in Egypt's election was in danger of slipping into farce on Friday night as the judge in charge of announcing them said he was "too tired" to do so.

At a press conference by the election commission chief Abdel Moez Ibrahim, already pushed back by two days, he began announcing figures before abruptly leaving the room saying he had "no more energy" and had "run out of gas."

Iceland has become the first western european country to recognise Palestine as an independent state.

The Icelandic parliament said in a statement on its website that it had passed a motion with 38 of 63 votes in favour of a resolution to recognse Palestine "as an independent and sovereign state" based on borders predating the six-day war of 1967.

"Iceland is the first country in western europe to take this step," Ossur Skarphedinsson, the minister for foreign affairs, told RUV, the Icelandic national broadcasting service. He said the vote had given him the authority to make a formal declaration on the government's behalf, but before doing so he would discuss the move with other Nordic countries.

The NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers lasted almost two hours and continued even after Pakistani commanders had pleaded with coalition forces to stop, the army claimed Monday in charges that could further inflame anger in Pakistan.

NATO has described the incident as "tragic and unintended" and has promised a full investigation.

Possibly for the first time in the life of the Turkish republic, a Turkish government has adopted a policy of open, unprovoked confrontation with a neighboring country. The citizens of that country, Syria, are flabbergasted. Turkey spent years repairing relations with neighbors under the banners of soft power, strength in depth and 'zero problems'. At every level, the outcome was very positive. Some months ago, however, under the impact of the so-called 'Arab spring', that policy was abandoned virtually overnight. It has been replaced by threats, belligerence and support for an armed group seeking the overthrow of a government with which Turkey had friendly relations until very recently.

While calling on the Syrian government to 'end the violence', the Turkish Prime Minister and his Foreign Minister make no mention of the violence for which the Syrian government is not responsible. Armed gangs – some apparently salafists and some apparently causing chaos for money – have been attacking soldiers, police and civilians virtually since the beginning of the protest movement. The government can pull all its tanks off the streets but that won't stop the violence of these gangs (and now 'army defectors') and may even be seen as a sign of weakness and encourage it.

Iran will target NATO's missile defense installations in Turkey if the U.S. or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic, a senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said Saturday.

Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards' aerospace division, said the warning is part of a new defense strategy to counter what he described as an increase in threats from the U.S. and Israel.

Tensions have been rising between Iran and the West since the release of a report earlier this month by the International Atomic Energy Agency that said for the first time that Tehran was suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose was the development of nuclear arms.

The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of trying to produce atomic weapons, and Israel, which views Tehran as an existential threat, has warned of a possible strike on Iran's nuclear program. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.

"Arab Springs" are not as spontaneous as the Western mainstream media would have us believe. Their behind-the-scenes instigators always get "a little help from their Global Power Elite mega-planning friends..."

­Isn't it rather odd that after long decades of slumber, starting in early 2011 millions upon millions of Arabs throughout North Africa and the Middle East suddenly woke up, took to the streets, violently clashed with police and security forces, overthrew their governments and in one instance – Libya – managed to deliver their country to a perverse alliance of foreign terrorists, local thugs, CIA operatives and NATO bombers, eventually murdering their own exceptional leader, Muammar Gaddafi, live on global TV?

Question: just how spontaneous are these major social convulsions that lead to revolution, chaos, battles on streets and squares, thousands dead and injured, and the violent overthrow of entire governments?

Turkey appears to be preparing for some form of civil war in neighboring Syria, wary of any unilateral intervention but fearful fighting there could quickly escalate to a broader sectarian conflagration in the Arab world.

"I observe a simmering threat in the region based on sectarian divide," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday. "It ... has the potential to move the Muslim world from the 21st century into the darkness of the Middle Ages."

These were words Gul would not have uttered in public even a couple of weeks ago.

But Ankara has in recent days openly abandoned any notion of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad staying in power and is focused on dealing with the chaos that could follow his removal.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan has once again stepped up to the historical plate and hit one out of the park.

He has publicly challenged Assad not to go the way of Hitler, Mussolini, Ceausescu, and Gaddafi. I am not sure Assad is listening. He has not been so far.

Assad has pushed the envelope even more when he agreed with the Arab League to pull his troops back to the barracks, only to have them go onto the attack the next day.

It was a great humiliation and loss of face for the League, not something that they really needed or could afford.

Are their hypocrites among them? Of course, but they are everywhere. Throw a dart off the observation seating area in Congress and you have a better that even chance of hitting one.

We could all temporarily lose sight of who is pulling the strings in this counter-revolution currently playing out in Egypt … but make no mistake, the thousands in Tahrir square will not lose hope nor can they afford to.”

Egypt, a land embedded in ancient history with an old legacy of oppression and abuse of power, its people are awakening and refusing to yield to any kind of tyranny or autocracy be it of civilian or military authority.

But obviously somebody, and that somebody is unfortunately in command right now, doesn’t seem to get this message.

 Some political analyst once said “An autocracy or a tyranny is a far simpler form of social and political organization than a democracy.” … I think he is absolutely right considering the complexity of Egypt’s transitional phase towards what a lot of people hope to be a true and functioning democracy.

Eight months after the deadly uprising began in Syria, the country seems to be reaching a turning point. The Arab League, previously an obstacle to change, is now pushing for an end to the Assad regime. The Emir of Qatar is spearheading the movement.

A magnificent building from the 1980s, but only four stories tall and 70 meters (230 feet) long? It was too old, too small and not tall enough. Bulldozers demolished the building a few weeks ago.

The structure in the capital of Doha that once housed the Foreign Ministry of Qatar in a prominent location along the waterfront promenade, the Corniche, next to the emir's palace, is now a pile of rubble.

Qatar's 59-year-old Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has built a new headquarters for his diplomats. It is a glass tower in a neighborhood of skyscrapers at the opposite end of the bay, a building so large that each of the ministry's three top officials received an entire floor to himself. Each chose the impressive view he would have from his desk: overlooking the roundabout popularly known as the TV Roundabout, because of its location next to studios run by Al-Jazeera, the Arab world's most important television network; across to Khalifa Stadium, where the opening ceremony for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will probably be held; or out to Al Udeid Air Base, the largest air base in the Middle East, where a US military jet takes off for Iraq or Afghanistan every few minutes.

Egyptian security forces and protesters fought pitched battles Sunday, the second day of deadly clashes that plunged the country into a political crisis that could imperil Egypt’s first post-revolt elections, just a week away.

After an emergency meeting Sunday night, Egypt’s interim military leaders issued a statement expressing “regret over what the events have led to.” But they resisted demonstrators’ demands that they step aside quickly and turn power over to a civilian government, suggesting instead that they would stick to an announced timetable, which could keep them in charge until 2013.

Turkey and Jordan, backed by Western and Arab powers, are preparing to set up two "safe zones" for civilians inside Syria, diplomats said Friday.

The Western and Arab diplomats told The Daily Star that Syria's two neighbors would press ahead with preparations to establish the two havens if President Bashar Assad did not sign on to an Arab plan aimed at ending a bloody crackdown on anti-regime protesters by Saturday.

The diplomats said an international meeting in Paris would discuss later Friday the details of the plans to set up the zones in southern and northern Syria.

On Wednesday, the Arab League gave Assad three days to agree in writing to allowing hundreds of observers into Syria to oversee the implementation of the Arab plan to end eight months of violence against protesters that has killed more than 3,000 people.

Finally. Crystal clear. Someone finally said it - what the whole world, except Washington and Tel Aviv, knows in its collective heart; the recognition of a Palestinian state is "not an option but an obligation".

It did wonders that the man who said it was Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Cairo, at the Arab League, in front of all Arab foreign ministers and with virtually the whole Arab world glued to satellite networks scrutinizing his every word.

The current Erdogan Arab Spring tour - as it was billed by the Turkish press - comprising Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, has already rocketed him to the status of a geopolitical cross between U2's Bono and Barcelona's superstar Argentine footballer Lionel Messi.

Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, will be taken back from a federal court in Pittsburgh to face charges in Washington, D.C.

The assassination charge means that the 21-year-old could face up to life in prison.

When he was asked if he understood that he would be going back to Washington to face the charges, Ortega-Hernandez said, "Yes, ma'am."

Top international climate scientists and disaster experts meeting in Africa had a sharp message Friday for the world's political leaders: Get ready for more dangerous and "unprecedented extreme weather" caused by global warming.

Making preparations, they say, will save lives and money.

These experts fear that without preparedness, crazy weather extremes may overwhelm some locations, making some places unlivable.